The Show Must Go On
by Brannasaurus Rex
Summary: In which Lucy Heartfilia apparently has an affinity for killing the dead, and Natsu has a knack for it as well. Zombie AU NALU and other ships.. Rated M for possible Lemons, Language, and of course Blood and Guts
1. you, me, and a couple zombies

(anything you say can and will be held against you, so only say my name, it will be held against you)

The weirdest thing about the Apocalypse was not the infestation of zombies. The strangest thing was the presence of Lucy Heartfilia. It was Monday. The same, typical Monday morning. The only thing seemingly unnatural, was the sudden appearance of a new student, two weeks before summer break. It made no sense. Why enroll in school, when there was nothing left to learn for the year? That was the enigma of Lucy's sudden arrival.

The pink-haired boy groaned, slamming his head onto his desk. The last two weeks were to be agonizingly long. Too long for his tastes. He wouldn't have shown up today, were it not for the red-haired demon. Otherwise known as Erza, she ruled Magnolia High with a firm hand. She was the Student Council President and also part demon. At least, that's how Natsu felt about her.

The class was buzzing with anticipation. Everyone around him talked about the new girl. The comments were all the same;

"She's hot."

"Did you see her rack?"

And other such comments only mentioning her figure. _Figures._ As the woman of the statements above happened to stroll in, the students of Class 2A became silent. All eyes peered at her, and she was not unaware of the attention. Natsu was giving her no such pleasure, as he wished he was far away, asleep on his bed.

"Class, this is our new student. Please welcome her, as she introduces herself."

The blonde stood in front of the class, smiling brightly with a sour taste in her mouth. How many damn times in her life had she experienced this? How many fake friends did she have to make? Moving from city to city, and school after school, just to escape. She politely hid her disgusted feelings and provided her very much practiced kindness. _Just another school, another life. Bear with it until graduation._ "Hello. My name is Lucy Heartfilia."

Shock ensued next. _Lucy_ _Heartfilia_? The one, and only child of Layla and Dr. Jude Heartfilia? Imagine having someone so widely known, so famous, not even for her own self, situate herself among your daily routine, in your classroom. It was madness. It only made the boys lust after her more, and the girl's envy grow steadily.

Lucy Heartfilia, busty, blonde, gorgeous, and to top it off; rich. There was nothing more exciting than this. Rumors beginning to start already. Students voices clamored in the classroom, as they turned to their neighbors to speak in excitement. "I heard once, Dr. Heartfilia locked up his wife because she was a nutcase, and they move around so much because she causes issues." A girl answered the statement swiftly. "I heard in the last city they were in, Mrs. Heartfilia burned down the hospital her husband was working at."

There were other such rumors flying, Lucy's eye twitching in irritation. This wasn't new. The life of a teenage celebrity who never had a say in the matter, wasn't all it was cracked up to be. Natsu caught the action as it flashed across her features. He recognized in her, a familiar longing to be elsewhere.

He had heard just as much as the people around him did about the pretty blonde. He was the only one who didn't believe in the rumors. Not that he cared, really. He didn't, and that was exactly why he was going to save her ass. In frustration, he kicked over his desk, making every eye turn to his form. "Will you shut the hell up? I'm trying to take a nap here." It wasn't really a lie, but the significant reason of his outburst, had not belonged to that statement.

His eyes found hers, and he couldn't help but notice how attractive they were. They were set nicely on her soft face, a shade of milk chocolate. They weren't big, just wide. Their gaze was clear, and unfazed as they pierced his. They looked at him with surprise and relief. She mouthed her thanks, his head nodding in response.

"Dragneel. Detention after school. One more outburst young man, and I can have you suspended." _For what, knocking over a desk? Please do, there are two weeks left of school anyway._ His response was a grunt, and a fervent return of his forehead to his arms, neatly folded on his desk. So much for watching _The Walking Dead_ after school today.

As the class quieted, and his consciousness started to slip away, a shrill shriek pierced his earlobe, destroying any chance of sleep this period. What the hell was with everyone today, why couldn't he just sleep like usual? The girl, whose throat Natsu dearly wanted to strangle, pointed out the window. "Mrs. Nader. There are-"

"Zombies!"

A boy beside her looked at the scene with excitement in his eyes. He was most likely thinking, ' _Time to kick some ass, and get laid, because girls will think I'm hot, and it's the end of the world.'_

The class crowded the windows lining the right side of the classroom. They watched as one after one, the slow moving people crawled into the courtyard. Blood covered the ground, bodies lay still among the wreckage. Screams erupted from the victims below as the hulking bodies chased after them. Some were feeding off of people, chewing on limbs and innards. Natsu couldn't see from the high vantage point they were currently in, but he could tell by the way the walked and the way they reached for people, they were in fact, just as they feared. Zombies.

 _Great. Fucking great._

At least school would end early.

Natsu had seen enough zombie movies and shows, and had planned his survival in case of such events. He knew what was happening, and turned away from the sight. His plan formulating in his head. _Grab a weapon, get Wendy, and get the fuck out of town._

His eyes caught on one thing. Lucy Heartfilia. She did not stand over the window watching the horror as the others did. She stood there, remaining in the last spot Natsu had just heard her speak in. The look on her face was what confused him. She looked unsurprised, and perhaps, angry even. He was the only one who caught the words escaping from her lips.

"Fuck. Not now." Her eyebrows were furrowed, and she sucked in a breath. She finally caught Natsu's eye, discovering his intense confusion. _Now? Was she planning on this happening another time?_ Her face became impassive, as she realized she had let slip, too much. Natsu caught every move.

"Alright students. Calm down. I'm sure we can get this under control. I'm sure Principal Smith has everything under control." Her voice sounded hollow, as if she were trying to convince herself, rather than the students. A boy shook his head. "That's Mr. Smith right there." Said man's body was being swallowed whole as he wailed pitifully. Blood squirted from his wounds as the creature bit into the flesh of his neck.

A girl huddled herself in the corner, crying and rocking herself back and forth. She stared at the ground in front of her, murmuring to herself. "We're gonna die. We are all going to fucking die." The students began to panic. Screams of, "I don't want to die," seemed to be all that could be said.

Mrs. Nader made no move to calm them, very much terrified herself. A girl suddenly screeched. "My cellphone won't work!" Another guy added in. "The police put me on hold!"

Off in the distance, from the direction the dead came lumbering, Natsu could see smoke rising from buildings, and sudden explosions bursting miles away. The drone of extreme emergency sounded throughout the city. Loud screams and wails of the victims lodged themselves into his ear. He had to escape. Now.

"Listen you idiots." Natsu's eyes found Lucy. "The only way you're going to survive this, is to shut the hell up, and do as I say." She held a baseball bat in her hand, Natsu being the only one who wondered where the hell that had come from. No one listened to her, as the screaming ensued.

Frustrated she turned to leave, before Natsu's hand grasped her wrist. The skin on his hand was soft and cool, the wrist was thin and so breakable. His hands were warm and calloused on her skin, a shock of electricity shot through her spine. She turned to face her captor, his eyes pleading her. The idea of teaming up with her on his escape, seemed to grow exponentially more, as a great idea.

"Do you have a plan?" He seemed to be the only sane one besides her in the class, despite his hair color, so she didn't mind his touch. _But seriously. Pink?_ She nodded, her blonde hair shaking with it. "Do you have a weapon?"

The more and more this went on, the more excited he felt. This was real, he'd finally bash some heads in. Hopefully Gray turned, so that he could bash his brains out. His eyes scanned the room for anything he could use for the thought, his eyes sticking to the flamethrower. Chemistry was more fun when your teacher had one of those. His eyes lit up as he grabbed his new favorite toy. He flashed a grin at the blonde. "Oh yeah."

* * *

 **Hello again. Thanks for reading my junk.**

 **I hope to be quickly updating this, because I am very prepared in the plot line of this fic.**

 **Forewarning, this is not entirely based on romance, because everyone is trying to fucking survive, so please don't expect a lot of mushyness. I honestly don't know how far I'll take it, really. I can't promise any lemon either, but you never know.**

 **I'm not good at making up my mind about these things.**

 **Anyways, hope you enjoy.**

 **Review me~**


	2. a sword, a crowbar, and some flyin heads

(tell me would you kill, to save a life? tell me would you kill, to prove you're right?)

The clock read 9:07 A.M. There were approximately 373 minutes left until the last bell of the day rang. Way too many minutes for Gray's liking.

He hated school. He might hate it more than he does, Natsu, and that's seriously saying something. Just two more weeks of pain, and Gray can be free. Free from school and most importantly, Erza's temper.

The female was currently listening to the teacher's words with gusto. She was the only student left who cared, as the sweet fruits of summer proved near. Nobody cared about how the weather impacted the earth. Gray didn't give a damn. He zoned out the teachers nasally voice and snivelling nose as soon as he sat down.

The only thing taking place in his thoughts was the studying he and Juvia were supposed to be having right after school today. Even though they called it _studying,_ it was more like a makeout session, he could not keep his hands off of her, and she could not keep her eyes on her homework.

He found himself extremely anxious for school to be over, so he could get to it. He looked at the clock again. 9:08.

He slammed his head on the desk, repetitively. _Damn school, damn teacher, damn Erza. DAMN NATSU._

Suddenly, the announcement bell dinged, which was unusual at this time.

"Students and faculty of Magnolia High, we ask you to remain calm, as we let the authorities handle the situation. We ask that you remain in your classrooms."

Gray met Erza's eyes with his. They shared a look.

"Oh, shit!"

A boy stared out into the courtyard, his face pressed comically against the glass. Students filed out of their seats to take a look at what was so devastating.

The ding of the intercom stopped them. The voice was now rushed, and sounded as if the person speaking was trembling.

"Students of MH, we are now under lockdown and-"

Static cut the voice off, blanketing the whole room with the noise. Moments passed, where silence and stillness threatened to choke them with it's thickness.

Suddenly a guttural scream burst through the speakers. The gnawing of flesh, and the wails of the victim were all that could be heard.

Panic erupted.

Students scrambled out of the classrooms towards the exits, in hopes for escape. They pushed and shoved their way through the halls. Both male and female student body screamed in terror. They all ran for the exit, like a huge stampede.

Erza's grip on Gray's bicep was a little too tight for comfort. "We need to get out of here."He pushed himself away from the desk, obeying her orders. "You don't have to tell me twice." He followed her out the door, stumbling over a girl who had long since fainted in terror. Her eyes were rolled back into her head, and her limbs were splayed out uncomfortably. Gray barely held down his breakfast.

As Erza pressed through the throngs of people, elbows, shoulders and flying appendages pressed into her. Gray could only follow behind, as he wondered why she went the opposite direction of escape. "Hey, Erza. Where are we going?" He fell onto the floor as people proceeded to run towards the front gates of the school. He did not even realize how populated the school actually was. She roughly dragged his body off the floor, giving him no satisfaction of an answer.

His only choice seemed to be to follow behind. When she found her locker number, she exclaimed in excitement. Gray was now extremely annoyed. "DAMN IT ERZA, THIS IS NOT THE TIME TO BE GRABBING SCHOOLBOOKS! WE STILL DON'T KNOW WHAT WE'RE UP AGAINST!" Her short response was not what he had expected. "Zombies."

She tossed a crowbar at him. He caught the heavy metal in his hand, staring at it in confusion. What she brought out next, made his draw drop. She was strapping a sword and sheath around her waist as if it were natural for her to do such a thing. "Why the hell do you have a sword in your locker?" She slammed the small metal door closed, a creaking bang responded. "It's mostly for intimidating the students, but now it seems useful. Don't you think?"

"Useful?"

Her palm hit her forehead. He was an idiot, Natsu was not lying when he said so. "I just told you, we'll be fighting zombies."

Gray looked at her quizzically, his eyebrows raised. Then he burst into laughter. _Zombies? That's funny. Good one._ She did not laugh with him, and rather looked very much annoyed at his outburst. "What, you're serious? How do you know?"

Her eyes rolled to the high heavens. "Have you ever seen _Highschool of the Dead?"_ He can't recall the name, but he remembers Juvia once making him watch something close to that. He never paid attention to it though. She groaned and rubbed her temples. "Just trust me, okay?"

The screaming suddenly increased in magnitude, and Gray gripped the metal rod tighter. She was indeed correct, as he watched the hulking bodies of former classmates chase after the screaming ones who still looked, _normal._

He may have not seen _Highschool of the Dead,_ but he had seen plenty of _The Walking Dead, Zombieland, World War Z,_ and _Shaun of the Dead._ He could tell without an up close and personal view, that the repulsing bodies munching on the flesh of the innocent students,(at least some of them, most of them were faggots)were in fact as Erza feared. _Fucking zombies._

Gray tried to recall exactly what it was that he did to deserve such divine punishment. He was a pretty nice guy, except when it came to Natsu. He couldn't find much, which made him furious. His grip on the pole tightened, the skin of his knuckles, paling under the pressure.

Nothing was going as planned today.

He was supposed to waste 410 minutes today, wallowing in misery over school. He was supposed to go on a _date_ with his girlfriend after school. He was _supposed_ to live to a ripe old age. Instead he was gonna fucking die here. The universe just _loves_ to surprise the hell out of him. He imagined that the circumstances would not lead him to the things that he was _supposed_ to have experienced today.

That pissed him off. When the first creature came stumbling towards his throat, eyes black as pits, skin grey and peeling, red stains sticking to it, and yellow teeth chomping at the air, he did not hesitate as he swung the bar through it's head, as if he had practiced before. The sick crack of bone splitting, and the sick burst of blood from the now open neck reminded him that this was real. He was killing someone, and he could get away with it.

Something akin to joy, and a little bit of sick twisted pleasure filled his gut. He couldn't help smiling crookedly. Oh how he wished he could've done this before. His anger seemed to grow as he watched the incoming onslaught of flailing bodies surge towards him. He growled fiercely and squeezed the metal beneath his fingers.

Erza stood beside him, her sword drawn. "We fight this horde, then we get out of here, OK?" She seemed to notice the extreme enjoyment the male was getting, and understood his need for release. Anger came in different forms, and there were healthier ways to handle it, but as she watched former friends of hers stumble towards her and gnash their teeth as if she were their prey, she thought that it didn't really matter at this point. Gray nodded in response. Juvia flashing before his eyes. He prayed to Mavis, she was safe, and _alive._ He hoped she wasn't scared, because she was so loving, so quiet, so _Juvia,_ and she would need him by her side. "After this, we find Juvia."

The red-haired female beside him chuckled, even in the circumstances. "Roger." With that, heads went flying.

The time was now 9:22 A.M., and Gray couldn't have been more happier at the clock than he'd ever been in his life.

* * *

 **Hello again.**

 **I would've had this chapter out last night, but my fucking shit was deleted and I was too pissed to write it again at the time.**

 **Also, for those of you who don't know, Highschool of the Dead is an anime, that you should watch. The ending is totally lame though.**

 **I made some Gruvia. Did you like?**

 **Thanks for reading this garbage, I don't know why you do it.**

 **Reviews are welcome.**


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